WellUrban

Personal reflections on urbanism, urban life and sustainable urban design in Wellington, New Zealand.

Sunday, September 30, 2007

Mystery bar number 63

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Jonny picked the previous mystery bar as Trade Kitchen. It's much more of a restaurant (a very, very good one, as it turns out) than a bar, but it has a casual café area that is quite well suited to a casual glass of wine after work. At the moment, their bar snacks are limited, but they're toying with the idea of adding a tapas-type menu. That would be a very good idea, since while their location is a bit isolated at the moment, it's strategically sited between the core CBD, waterfront and railway station, making it an ideal spot for corporate drinkies.

Today's mystery bar doesn't do much in the way of food, beyond a few counter-top sandwiches and nibbles, and instead it straddles the divide between café and bar. During the day, it's very much oriented towards a quick coffee and slice of cake, augmented by a range of cold soft drinks that go beyond the normal selection. But it also has a more bar-like side to its personality, complete with a short but quite inventive cocktail list (e.g. rosemary Martini, pear and vanilla punch). The shelves are full of premium spirits and other goodies (Ketel One vodka, Hendrick's gin, Peychaud's bitters) that suggest the mind of a connoisseur.

It's cosy and cute, with a couple of flamboyantly decorative touches, but otherwise it's been pared back to the basics. Some of the elements, such as the dark wooden bar, are reminiscent of the now-familiar Mojo look, but they use another brand of coffee so it has nothing to do with that chain. Instead, it seems to be a resolutely individual little place bringing a touch of character to some drab surroundings.

8 Comments:

At 9:33 am, October 01, 2007, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Tom - is it newly-opened? I have a thought...

 
At 1:43 pm, October 01, 2007, Anonymous Anonymous said...

This is a fun game!

 
At 2:38 pm, October 01, 2007, Blogger Joanna said...

Is that Foxton Fizz I see stacked on the shelves? Hurrah!

 
At 2:43 pm, October 01, 2007, Blogger Tom said...

Yes, it is very new. And it does indeed stock Foxton Fizz, along with various other forms of fizzage.

 
At 6:25 pm, October 01, 2007, Anonymous Anonymous said...

It's on Ghuznee Street, right? I can't remember the name.... grrrrr....

 
At 9:00 am, October 02, 2007, Blogger Gemma said...

Superfino!

 
At 9:37 am, October 03, 2007, Blogger Tom said...

Yup, Superfino it is: just opened on Ghuznee St next to the French Art Shop, it's a tiny little cafe (20 seats or less) that turns into a bar at night. Though I haven't seen it open in the evening yet, they definitely plan to do so.

 
At 9:02 pm, March 29, 2008, Anonymous Anonymous said...

yeah, awesome coffee, and nice place, it's just a shame that the food is not really fresh (if someone had already seen something like a cabinet..) and I am not really keen of the flies around the cup cakes...
anyway, the staff is really friendly even if the boss seems quite snob.

 

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